Muslims should stop getting misled in the name of jannat: Tarek Fatah

Tarek Fatah also criticised Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah for their protest against demonetisation.

Tarek Fatah also criticised Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah for their protest against demonetisation. (Wikimedia)

Pakistan-born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah on Sunday slammed those maulvis who misguide Muslims by making them believe in life after death in ‘Jannat’ and urged the community to not get misled by it. “Muslims should understand that it is all about the present life, the real life is what we live here,” Fatah said.

“If a maulvi tells Muslims they will get a beautiful life in ‘Jannat’ after death then even educated Muslims go behind this theory and this is funny,” he said on the second day of the ‘Jaipur Dialogues’ event here. Lashing out at Pakistan, his native country, Fatah said “The country wants to take revenge of the 1971 war”.

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“Pakistan has been doing surgical strikes against India since 1947 and circulated counterfeit currency,” he said. Fatah also criticised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for their protest against the government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

Speaking on the issue of Kashmir, Strategic Affairs Analyst Sushant Sareen said the issue is not just limited to Kashmir but to the whole country and Indian citizens need to know what solution is available for this issue. “Political establishments and experts say there should be political solution to the Kashmir issue but what specific and exact political solution should be there, has not been elaborated,” he said.

Sareen said “intellectual failure” is the main cause of the Kashmir issue, adding “the provisions in the Article 370 of the Constitution are not a hurdle in the solution of the Kashmir dispute”. He said the problem could be sorted out if people living in Kashmir consider themselves as Indian citizens. He also said the government should improve health and education system.

“It should be made mandatory that children of government employees, officers and elected public representatives from the level of Panchayat to Parliament will get education in government schools,” he said. Holding separatists responsible for the current situation in Kashmir, Lt Gen (Retd) Ata Hasnain said “Those who spread hatred takes advantage of financially weak people.”

He said Army should not be withdrawn from Kashmir and both Army and police are needed to maintain peace in the Valley. Hasnain said the situation can be changed in Kashmir by improving financial condition and providing better education and healthcare to the people living there.

American Hindu teacher David Frawley said some regional parties who do not have their own national agenda are opposing the ideology and decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi “which is funny.” He also criticised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his opposition to the decision of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.